WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDE
by rreigns
Summary: Emily finds herself hating a person she thought she loved, what will happen when they meet seven years later, once he is in a famous band called Avenged Sevenfold?
1. Chapter 1

**Emily's POV**.

"Let's leave now. It's getting late", dad yelled from the living room. Mom helped me to put my pink dress on.

"I don't want to do it mom"

"Don't be shy Emy. You are gonna do it great. Besides, you will be singing with Ollie's son"

"But mom..."

"We have this planned since 2 months ago. And this will help you to overcome your shyness."

"Alright" I said as I sighed. Mom finished my hair, we walked out the house, got into the van and made our way to Rod's Hickory Pit.

"Hello Ollie!" Mom said to the woman that was the owner of the place. Ollie hugged my parents and then hugged me very thightly, took my hand and softly spoke to me, "Don't be nervous swettie, my son will be there with you. You will do great." she noticed I was nervous, I tried not to shake. She took me to the stage while my parents sat three tables away from the stage.

Ollie's son, Billie,was already there, ready to play the guitar. He smiled at me and I got confidence.

"Hi everyone", he said speaking on the microphone, "I am Billie and this is Emily. We are going to perform "Tears in heaven" by Eric Clapton for you. I hope you enjoy it". Everyone cheered.

Billie started to play the guitar, he was good at it, dad bought a guitar for me like 2 years ago, and I am still learning. Billie made a sign that was time for me to start singing.

Once we finished, everyone cheered. I smiled and high-fived Billie. I ran to my mom and dad and they both hugged me.

"You did great sweetheart" my dad said, I sat next to mom and she whispered, "I am proud of you", I smiled. I ordered chocolate cake and milk. 10 minutes later, I finished my cake and a man walked to our table.

"Richard!" The man yelled, dad stood up and greeted him. "Brian" What are you doing here?"

"A friend of mine opened a music store and I will buy a guitar for my son"

"That's awesome. I bought a guitar for my little girl a while ago"

"Can she play it? By the way she has a sweet and good voice", the man said and I blushed, "How old is she?" he asked.

"She is 10" dad answered.

"I still remember when Anne was pregnant." mom smiled and stood up to greet the man.

"Wait, I'll be right back" he said and ran to his table. He came back with a woman, who was his wife and with two kids, one of them was sleeping and the woman was carrying him.

"Hey Emily", the man said to me, "this is my son, Brian, he is only two years older than you. Why you don't play together?". I blushed, the kid smiled to me and took my hand, we ran to the stage and we talked there.

"I am Brian. You?"

"I'm Emily"

"You live here?"

"No, I live in Crockett."

"I've never been there"

"It's okay, I guess. You live here?

"No, I live in Huntington Beach"

"Is it pretty"

"It's the pretties place on earth", he laughed.

We kept talking about a lot of stuff, he was very funny and we had a lot of thins in common. It was really nice to be with him. He was the only friend I had out of school. I felt combortable being around him.

Mom and Suzy walked to where Brian and I were. "Emily, we're leaving..." I turned to see Brian and he did the same, it looked like we didn't want to leave each other. "but the Haner are coming with us"

I was really happy about this. I had more time to keep talking with Brian. Dad paid our bill and we left. I went up to Ollie and Billie and said goodbye to them.

Brian Sr. was driving his van right behind Dad's, it took us 20 minutes to arrive at our house.

"Mom, I'll be playing with Brian in my tree house." I stated.

"Alright, I'll turn the lights on. Be careful." Mom said, she was really protective with me.

Dad built the house tree when I was 5, he always had to be with me because I was afraid of heights. Brian and I climbed up the three to get to the house, we sat in the big pillows I had there.

"Oh, you have a guitar!",

"Yes, but I am not good at it. I am still learning"

"My dad will buy me one tomorrow, but I already know how to play it. My granfather gave me my first guitar and the first song I played was 'Stairway to Heaven'"

"Really?, I nearly yelled.

"You know that song?"

"Are you kidding me? I love Led Zeppelin and that solo is the best ever"

"Wow! I didn't know you liked good music"

"Well Brian, we just met and we only talked about cartoons." he laughed.

"You're right, we didn't talk about music. So, what's your favorite band?"

"I love Def Leppard and Kiss"

"So, you like rock?", I nodded, "I listen to Slayer, Anthrax and Blak Sabbath, and of course, Iron Maiden"

"I like them too but I can't listen to them because my parents will freak out"

"You shouldn't hide your music taste, I mean, you like that stuff and your parents, well, they should accept the way you are" I looked down, "I will do my best Brian, I will stop hiding myself."

He started to play 'Stairway to Heaven' and I sang with him. Before we could finish the song, Suzy went to the yard to look for Brian, they were leaving. We both climbed down the tree and got inside the house. I hugged Brian. He was a special friend and I knew our friendship would last long.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we'll meet soon" Suzy said to me.

They left and that night I decided I wouldn't hide my self anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**2 years later.**

Emily's POV

I got home after 6 long hours of school. It was Wednesday finally! Even though I was one of the best students, school was getting ponderous. I am glad the classes are almost over. One week left.

Mom was in the kitchen cooking our lunch, I've spent a lot of thime with her because dad went to Huntington Beach due to his newest job, he has been gone for one month now.

"Hello mom"

"Hi Emy" she said as she kissed my cheek, she seemed to be happy, since dad left she had barely smiled.

The food was ready so we sat and started eating. Mom kept smiling and it was freaking me out.

"Okay, what's the matter mom? Why are you so happy?"

"Your dad called this morning, he is arriving today"

"That's great!"

"Yes, he must be here around 8 o'clock"

"I thought he wouldn't be able to be at my prom"

"Don't be so dramatic Emily, he only left for a short period of time"

"Mom. I am not being dramatic, my prom is this weekend."

"Oh..." she tapped her mouth with her hand, "I totally forgot. I am sorry."

"So, when are we buying my dress"

"We can go today, before your dad arrives. Have you decided the color yet?"

"I want a black one"

"I knew you would say that. And who will be your partner?"

"Andy. Who else?" I sighed.

"Okay, so let's get ready and go to the mall"

Mom and I headed to the closest mall. It wasn't that big but it had a lot of stores. We look for the dress I wanted in 3 different stores, we haven't found anything yet. I am getting tired and desperate. This is why I hate going shopping. We walked into a really nice store and we finally found a perfect dress. It wasn't short, it was strapless and it had a nice red bow.

I put the dress on and when I showed it to my mom, she nearly cried.

"I don't like like a princess, do I?" I asked, mom laughed and wiped a few tears away.

"No. You look perfect Emily! That dress was made for you" I smiled and put my normal clothes on again. We also look for high heels in the same store. They weren't that tall and they were black.

Mom paid for the stuff and we went home.

I went to my room and put my dress and high heels on my closet. I decided to change my outfit since dad was arriving tonight, so I decided to wear my Misfits' t-shirt, which was sleeveless and mom hated it becuase it had a "terrific skull".

I helped my mom to clean the house, the kitchen was the only dirty place so I washed the dishes meanwhile my mom cleaned the bathroom.

After 1 hour of cleaning, mom and I finished, we sat in the living waiting for my dad. We were talking about my prom like how long would it last and that stuff. The phone rang and I answered.

_"Hello?" "Emily! It's Andy" "Hey, what's up?" "ahm... I can't be your partner at the prom" "WHY?" "Remember Joanne?" "Mmm" "I am going with her, sorry" "Dammit Andy, it's fine but I don't think I'll find a partner. The prom is this weekend" "I..." "I won't find a partner. I have no friends, I am an antisocial teenager" "I am really sorry Emily" "Gah, it's fine" "Sorry, bye" "bye"___

I hung up. I sighed as I tried not to cry.

"What the hell happened?" mom asked worried and pissed off at the same time.

"Andy is not going with me to the prom"

"But, why?"

"He is going with this girl he had a crush on since the dawn of time"

I was about to cry when dad knocked the door, mom ran to open it. As soon as my mom saw dad, she hugged him and kissed him.

"Ew" i thought to myself.

I also went up to him and hugged him, he kissed my forehead.

My dad gave a look to my mom and she covered my eyes.

"What the..." I said but my dad interrupted me. "We have a surprise for you" dad said and I sighed.

When my mom let me see, the Haner walked into the house.

I ran to hug Brian, I missed him. We haven't seen each other since 1 year but we had conversations on the phone.

I greeted Brian Sr., Suzy and Brent. Brian introduced me to Brent, he was really cool too.  
We went to my yard and played soccer until the dinner was ready.

We all had dinner and the Haner were staying in our house, which wasn't big but had 2 guest rooms.  
Brian Sr. and his family went to the rooms to put their stuff there, dad invited them to my prom so they would stay until the weekend.

"Emily, come here" my dad said from the living room, mom was sat next to him.

"What's going on?"

"Listen sweetie, I had a new job in Huntington Beach, you know that, right?" I nodded, "well, my new job is 6 hours away from here so we are moving to Huntington"

I stayed in silence as I tried to understand what dad was saying.

"I am not leaving" I mumbled.

"Of course you are leaving with us" mom said.

"No. I don't want to leave Crockett"

"Emily. You are our daughter and we cannot leave you alone!"

"No. I am not leaving Andy, I am not going with you"

"Emily..."

"You don't understand, I only have one friend on here and I am not thinking about leaving him. You know I am too shy and I dont know how to make friends" I yelled.

"You already have two friends in there, Brian and Brent and they will help you to make more friends"

"No, they are older than me"

"Emily, please. You have to understand that we have to be together. There are great schools in Huntington and I am sure you will make a lot of friends"

I sighed, I didn't want to fight with my parents, besides Brian could hear me, so I only went to my room and locked the door. I started to listen to Def Leppard.

I heard a knock on my door, I stopped the music and opened the door. It was my mom, she smiled to me and sat in my bed.

"Everything will be fine. I know you are afraid of changes, but sometimes they are good."

I nodded and sighed.

"oh, by the way, Brian is going with you to the prom"

"What?" I nearly yelled.

"Since you are not going with Andy, I thought it would be a good idea if he was your partner"

"Mother, are you crazy?"

"Yes and so are you" she said and she left.

Well, going to the prom with Brian would be nice but awkward at the same time.  
I sighed and went to sleep.

*NEXT FRIDAY*

Brent, Brian and I have spent a lot of time together, after school. We went to different places, like the prettiest park on here, we went to the movies and we've played music together.

I tried not to talk about the prom but mom would keep talking about it when Suzy and Brian were close. I was nervous about it, the prom is tomorrow.

"so, are we going to dance?" he asked and I blushed.

"If you want to"

"I am actually excited about your prom"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I already saw you wearing a dress, but now you are really badass and it's going to be weird, I don't know" we both laughed.

"well, you will see me tomorrow, so let's go to sleep, tomorrow is going to be such a loooong day"

He nodded and we both went to our respective rooms.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hurry up Emily! We need to get your hair done!" Mom yelled. I finished my simple make-up. I only applied mascara to my eyelashes and a soft pink flush to my cheeks. Mom walked in with Suzy, they curled my hair and made a messy bun. I like it.

It was about 8 o'clock and my prom started in 30 minutes. "Damn! I'll be late" I thought to myself. I went up to my closet and took out my dress and high heels and I put them on.

"C'mon Emily! Let's leave now!" dad yelled. I tried to run but I couldn't due to the high heels. I bet I looked quite awkward and ridiculous. I made my way to the living, as fast as I could and my parents were already waiting for me in the van. The Haner were already in theirs. I haven't seen Brian in his tuxedo though.

Thankfully, my school was really close to my house, like 15 minutes away. "We arrived" mom said.  
"Run Emily! We're about to start" the principal yelled and I walked as fast as I could and found my seat next to Andy, who was sitting next to Joanne.

"Hi" he said shyly.

"Hi Andy"

"So, did you find a partner?"

"Yes, he is a friend of mine. I met him a few years ago. Don't even worry about it"

"Thank God" he sighed, "I felt so guilty about leaving you. But you know that I've had the biggest crush on Joanna since kindergarden" he said whispering in my ear so Joanne couldn't hear him.

"I know Andy, I am so happy about you two" he smiled and softly punched my arm.

Andy was a good boy, he has been my best friend since 1st grande and Joanna was kinda rude but her feelings towards Andy seemed to be honest.

"So, where's your partner?" Andy asked.

"Uh... I don't know, we arrived together but I had to run because I was late"

The ceremony started and well, I received most of the diplomas and medals, at least my parents were proud of me about this. Once it ended our party started and I went to look for Brian.  
I saw someone waving their hands at me. It was Suyz. I walked towards them, these high heels were killing me. Brian was sat down on the floor, when he saw me, he smiled and quickly stood up.

"Let's go dumbass" I told him silently so no one could hear me.

We walked to the dance floor and there was a circe of the popular girls, they were dancing and getting everyone's attention but I laughed because most of them didn't have a date.

"I don't dance" I said to Brian, he laughed.

"neither do I, but let's do some awkward and weird moves" I nodded and indeed, we did awkward moves, everyone were staring at us and actually cheering us, I could see Andy laughing.

3 songs passed and I was already exhausted. My feet were like burning and hurting like hell, we went for some drinks and the slow and romantic songs started.

"ew" I said.

"What? Your drink tastes like shit?"

"What? No!" I laughed, "I said 'Ew' because of the songs"

"Oh... wanna dance?" Brian asked. I could feel my cheeks going red, he grabbed my hand and we went to the dance floor. It kinda reminded me when we first meet. I put my arms around his neck and he put his harms around my waist.

"You're such a nerd" he said.

"fuck no"

"Yeah sure, explain those diplomas"

"I am smart not a nerd"

"Yeah whatever, I got good grades until 4th grade, then I stopped caring"

"Then, you were a nerd, right?" He only rolled his eyes. I rested my head on his chest, he was obviously taller than me, I couldn't wait to grow up.

"I heard you're moving"

"Oh, you heard me fighting with my parents?"

"your dad told us"

"Yep, we will be neighbors"

"You are moving to Huntington?" he nearly yelled.

"... my dad didn't mention that?"

"No, but, I don't understand why you don't want to move to Huntington, it's such a beautiful place"

"I know but, I love here, besides, I wanted to study in John Swett High School"

"And? There are a lot of good schools in Huntington... NERD!" he laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"well, I barely have friends here. I am not good at making friends, to be honest."

He didn't reply. I guess he didn't know that feeling, he seemed to be a funny guy who makes friends wherever he went to. We danced two more songs and I was feeling sleepy.

"I am tired" I sighed

"It's midnight" he said. Most of the guys were already leaving.

"Let's leave" I said. We walked out of the building. Our parents were outside talking and Brent was sleeping in his dad's lap. When they saw us, they took photos of us, together. We left and went home.

"So, when are we leaving?" I asked. I was expecting a "Never" as an answer but I knew that was impossible.

"Next week" he said. i sighed.

"Okay, when are the Haner leaving?"

"tomorrow, but Brian Sr. is coming next week to help us and he will guide us to our new house.

"Is it pretty? Have you already seen it?" mom asked.

"Yes, it's much bigget and prettier that our actual house"

We arrived home and Brian walked towards me and he gave me a present.

"Open it" he ordered. I walked into the house and sat in the couch, he sat right next to me.  
I opened the box, iinside of it were 5 albums, two of them were of Def Leppard and the rest of them were of Pantera, Slayer and Iron Maiden. And there was also a t-shirt, it was black and had the Black Sabbath logo.

"Oh... THANK YOU!" I yelled and hugged Brian.

"I hope the t-shirt fits you. I mean, you're really thin and small and.."

I only stared at him and sarcastically said "Thank you", he put a weird look on his face. I sighed. I went to my room to put my pajamas on. I went to the room Brian and Brent were staying in.

"Brian..." I whispered, trying not to wake Brent up.

"What?" he said loudly but Brent was still sleeping.

"Follow me" I demanded. We went to my tree house.

"So, I want to tell you something about me"

"alright"

"ah, when you said the "you're thin and small" thing, I sarcastically said thank you", he nodded, "well, it's because being this thin has been my biggest insecurity since I can remember, so i really get annoyed when people say I am thin. I don't like it"

He nodded and hugged me, "I am sorry, I promise I won't do it again" "Thank you Brian"

We climbed down the tree and went to sleep.

- - - - - -  
They left next morning, at least I knew I was going to have Brian and Brent as friends on Huntington.

This whole week was going to be hard as hell.


	4. Chapter 4

We started to put everything in boxes, according to dad, a young couple were interested on buying our house, they were Canadians and she was already pregnant.

Mom went to my school for all my important documents and dad went to his job to do the same. I stayed home to find all our photos. I couldn't believe my mother used to buy dresses for me, they were so pink and feminine.

"I'm home" mom yelled, shuting the door.

"I can't believe I let you to dress me like that" I gave her a photo, I was 4 or 5.

"You looked really cute and you weren't this REBEL"

"I am not," I paused, mom was giving me one of those looks like 'don't you dare to tell I am lying', "Okay, I am, but not that much" She only shook her head and put my documents in a box.

"I saw Andy's mom, Helen"

"What did she say?"

"She just apologized because Andy preferred to go with that girl instead of going with you" Mom said, she was kinda upset about it.

"Ah, it's fine. I didn't get bothered."

"Oh, and Helen also mentioned you didn't say goodbye to Andy the saturday night"

"I was tired mom, the high heels were killing me"

"I know, I had to apologize to her though"

"Thank you"

"Yes. Whatever, I think you should go to Andy's house and talk to him about us moving out"

Fuck. I don't want to say goodbye to Andy. "Fine, I will"

Andy's house was just 8 doors away. I knocked the door and his little sister opened it.

"Hi" she said

"Hi, is Andy home"

"I'll attend this Natalie," Andy's mom said, she greeted me and invited me to drink orange juice, which I rejected. She yelled to Andy, I was still waiting out of the house. Andy ran downstairs and when he saw me, he was about to spear me down.

"Hey. I didn't see you when you left last night" I said to him.

"I saw you. You were with..."

"Brian, I am sorry I didn't say goodbye."

"Uh, it's fine. Mom told me she saw your mom earlier"

"My mom said the same"

"Let's go to the backyard"

I've always loved Andy's backyard, it was huge and had anice pool but it was empty due to Natalie (his little sister). The grass of his backyard was really soft so we started to wrestle, Andy was weak though.

"You'll be good", he said to me putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I hope so"

"I mean it! You are quite strong"

"Who would say it? A strong skinny girl"

"That makes you even cooler Emily!" I blushed

"So, tell me, how was your date?" I asked to make Andy nervous

"It was okay, she ignored me for a good 10 minutes but we danced all night long"

"Are you going to ask her out again?"

"I am not sure"

"You should"

"but, what if she rejects me?"

"C'mon Andy! You need to take risks"

"I will" Andy sighed.

We kept talking about a lot of stuff, he mentioned my awkward dance with Brian, he laughed for 5 minutes. I didn't feel read y to tell him about me moving out. He was my only friend and I was his, he talked to other people but I was sure I was the only one he could call "friend"

"uh, I have to tell you something Andy"

"What is it?" he enthusiastically asked. I didn't want to break his little heart, which was already hurt by a lot of mean people.

"Uh, I am moving out" he stayed in silence, just like I did when my dad gave me the notice.

"What?"

"It's because of my dad's job, we are moving to Huntington." he didn't say anything. "I am sorry"

His eyes were full of tears, "You are leaving me. Isn't Huntington the place where Brian lives, is it? YOU ARE LEAVING ME BECAUSE YOU PREFER BRIAN OVER ME. I should have known that" he yelled at me. His face was red of anger, his eyes full of sadness and hate.

"What are you even saying? I told you we were moving out because of my dad's job and I don't prefer Brian over you. You've been my best friend since kindergarden and I met Brian just a few years ago. You are my best friend." I explained. He finally could relax and sighed.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, "You can stay here with us"

"You know I can't do that. I wish I could but my parents will never leave me alone"

"Our plans to going to high school together are over"

"I am really sorry. I wish I could stay" I stood up and hugged him, at fist he didn't want to hug me back but he finally did.

"You'll be fine without me" I whispered.

"I won't" I punched his arm.

"Promise me you will be fine" I stated and he only sighed.

"I will, I promise" I hugged him again

"I better go home"

"When are you leaving?"

"Next Friday, around 11 in the morning. I hope you can be there."

"I will" I waved goodbye and ran to my house. Seeing Andy crying like that, was heartbreaking. I've seen him crying but never because of me.

I got home and slammed the door when I got in.

"Hi sweetie" mom said, she was finishing packing.

"Hi"

"What? Did you tell Andy?"

"Yes, mom. He cried" I ran upstairs and went to my room. I felt like crap.

The next days went by pretty quickly. All our stuff were in boxes, my dad already called Brian Sr. to confirm he was coming. Andy and I have spent a lot of time together, more than we used to.

- - - - - - - -

It was Thursday night and I couldn't sleep, my room as empty, I was sleeping on the floor. Still the image of Andy crying was in my head, making me guilty. I've been there for my friend when he needed me the most, what if when I am gone he needs me? What if he feels weak again? If he ever hurt himself again, I won't forgive me.

I wrote a letter for Andy. Explaining how worried I was about him. I hope he understands.

I also hope this new change will bring good things to my life.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up quite early but not before my parents did. They were already putting the last boxes in our van. I heard Brian Sr.'s voice, I wasn't ready to leave.  
I walked downstairs and my parents and Brian were having breakfast, I sat down next to my mom and joined them eating breakfast.  
Once we finished, I helped my mom to wash the dishes, it was 10:30 in the morning and dad already had the urge to leave.

"Let's leave now, I want to arrive early", dad said.

"No dad! Andy will be here." dad sighed and agreed.

Dad kept talking to Brian about lots of plans, I was in the backyard lying in the grass, my tree house was already empty and I was sad, discouraged to go there one last time. It was getting close to 11:00 am and I was already anxious to see Andy. I moved to the front door and I saw him, with his dead down, crossing the street to get to my house.

"Hey Andy! We're about to leave", I said with great sadness.

"I am just in time"

We hugged for about 2 minutes, I wish our last hug would have lasted longer. I gave him the letter I wrote the other night.

"Promise me, this is not goingto be the last time we meet", he said.

"I promise." Andy gave me a little box and said, "this took me a forever to get, but it's with all my love" I grabbed it and put it in my bag. "You'll be my favorite wrestler" he whispered in my ear. I hugged him really tight.

"Let's go Emily" mom yelled, I kissed Andy's cheek and ran to my van, a few tears were rolling down my face, I turned my head to see Andy, he was already walking to his house.

"He will be fine. Everything is going to be fine" mom said.

I wiped the tears away and opened the box Andy gave me. It had a letter, which I decided I would read later or I would cry, it also had a gold bracelet with a pendent, it was the World Wrestling Federation logo, it had a note: _"I know you don't like bracelets unless they are cool and weird but I know and hope that you're going to love this. When you become a wrestler, dedicate a match to me, please. With Love, Andy"___

I held the bracelet close to my heart. I desperately asked my father to go back to Andy's house. Dad got mad at me but did what I asked. Andy was out of his house, sat on the sidewalk.

"ANDY!" I yelled, he stood up and ran to my van. I got out of the van and hugged him.

"You silly boy, I love you"

"I love you too"

"I will call you when I get home. Be a good boy Andy. And most important, stay strong" he nodded and sighed.

I went to my van and we left, this time I knew we were not coming back.

- - - - - - - - -

"Wake up emily. We arrived. We are in our new home" mom said and she shook me. I slowly opened my eyes, dad was right, the new house was pretty big. Before I got out of the van, I asked my mom to help me to put my new bracelet, she loved it.

I made my way to the door following my mom. Inside of the house Suzy was standing with a 'Welcome home' cake.

"I hope you don't mind I'm in your house" she laughing said, "but welcome to Huntington Beach!" we greeted her. I got out of the house, I was admiring our new house and the neighborhood, which seemed to be calmed down.

"Ouch" I yelled at the pain I felt due to the impact of a rock hitting my arm.

"Hey" Brian Jr. said

"You hit me right?"

"Yeah, I threw that rock. Welcome to Huntigton!" he laughed, "Come here, I will show you the whole neighborhood" I nodded and told my parents I would be back.

Brian only brought one bike but I had mine. Brian was in front of me the whole time, he was showing me the places faking a tourist guide voice. He makes me laugh a lot. I couldn't complain anymore, Huntington Beach was such a wonderful place. We visited, as he said, the neighborhood, but he also took me to the beach and other places he loved. It passed over 40 minutes and I was already exhausted.

I yawned. "C'mon lazy ass. We have one more thing to do" he said.

"What is it?"

"We're meeting my friends" I froze. I was way too shy, and Brian's friends seemed to be quite badass.

"uh, okay"

Brian guided me to a house, I wasn't paying attention on how we got there, we got off the bikes and walked to the backyard. I heard someone yelling things that made no sense.

"Shut up Jimmy" Brian said. Jimmy was the tall guy with blonde and spiky hair, he was running in circles and shouting.

"Who is she?" a girl asked. She was brunette and short.

"She is Emily, Val" Brian said. She stood up and greeted me like a guy does. I had no problem with that, in fact I liked it "Come here" he said, he introduced me to Matt, Zacky and Jimmy.

They all were rude but they were cool. I sat next to Zacky and we started to talk, he asked me about the music I liked, I started to mention bands and suddenly everyone was paying attention to me, except Jimmy and Brian, they were playing to see who was the strongest.

They were really nice to me, I talked to all of the, except Jimmy, who was in silence staring at me, that was quite creepy, to be honest.  
The guys went to buy something and I was alone with Val.

"So, what do you think of Huntington?" she asked

"It is really wonderful, I can't complain"

"You are cool, you must have left a lot of friends, uh?", I chuckled.

"Nah, I only had one"

"Don't worry then, you already made 5 friends here"

"I only made 4, I haven't talked to Jimmy, I think he doesn't like me"

"That can't be true. Jimmy is everyone's best friend"

"We'll see". We kept talking about a lot of stuff and we found out we had bunch of things in common.

The guys came back with beers. I determined myself not to drink, I decided that a long time ago. Brian offered me a beer but I said no. He understood. Val grabbed one and sat next to me.

"Okay, we decided to do this together," Matt said, "This is our very first Heineken" Val told me they already drank beer but they always wanted to drink the Heineken beers.

"C'mon Emily, drink only one" Brian insisted. I sighed and accepted, it would be only one and I wouldn't drink after this anymore

"Guys! Let's leave. My parents got home" Zacky scared said.

"But where are we going to now?" Val worried asked.

"Can we go to your house?" Matt asked to Val.

"No, my sister is there and you know how she is"

"Damn" Matt said.

"Let's go to the ugly park that is like 5 minutes away from my house" Jimmy shouted, they all nodded. We grabbed the beers and ran to the park. Brian and I left the bikes at Zacky's house. We ran really fast like if we had stolen something. It was exciting though.

We went to the deepest part of the park and we found some benches, they were forgotten and almost broken, and we sat.

I watched how everyone opened their beers. I didn't know how to open a beer so I was there, awkwardly watching them.

"I'll open yours" Jimmy said. I smiled and gave him my beer, he carefully opened it and saved the bottle cap in his pocket. Jimmy gave me by beer and sat between Brian and me.

"Ready?", Val asked, "3, 2, 1" when val said 1 we all started to drink the beer. I only took a sip of it, so did Val, the guys drank it all. I gave my beer to Brian and he drank it. Matt drank Val's beer.  
We spent a lot of time there, they were really funny and awesome.

"We have to do this more often" Zacky said, "and make sure you bring Emily with you, Brian, she is pretty awesome" Brian nodded and I blushed.

"Shit, It's late!" Brian said.

"So?" Matt asked.

"I better take Emily to her house now. Your parents must be worried"

"I guess so" I said.

"Come with us guys, so you will know where to find Emily" Brian proposed and they accepted. Zacky threw the beers to the trashcan of the park. In our way to Zacky's house, Val bought candies so our parents won't notice we drank.  
When we got to Zacky's house, we all grabbed our bikes and made our way to my house.

We got to my house and I went to knocked the door. Dad quickly opened the door and he let a sigh out.

"You are late, lady" he said

"I am sorry?" he shook his head and lift up his eyes to see the rest of the guys.

"Hi Mr. Osbourne" Brian said.

"Emily, are you related to Ozzy Osbourne?" Zacky amazed asked.

"No, I am not" we all laughed. I got that a lot in my old school.

"Hey guys!" my dad said. "Hello" they all answered.

"uh, I guess we're off. See you soon Emily" Val said, she gave me her phone number. I waved goodbye. I walked into my house and my parents were mad at me, mom said they were scared. I only sighed and apologized. I went to my new room, it was really big and had a lovely view to my yard, which was really big and green. I had a phone on my room so I called Andy. I already missed him. I told him I loved the brawler and I would dedicate a match to him. Also I mentioned I met Brian's friend and that Val could be my very first friend that is a girl, Andy knew I couldn't stand girls at all. He wished me the best on my new life. I loved him.

My bed was already there. This room really needed to have a badass decoration.  
I put my pajamas on and got into bed.

My day went to big a heartache to the most amazing experience ever. 


	6. Chapter 6

I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. I made new friends and it was just the first day I got here. I guess mom was right and this is a good change. Brian called, it was noon, he said he had a hangover and he asked if I was okay, of course I was okay, I only took a sip of the beer, he laughed and asked me to hang out with the guys, I said yes.

"Mom, Brian and the guys will hang out, may I go with them?", I asked.

"I am still mad at you, ask your father" mom said, I sighed. I walked to living, where he was moving the new furniture.

"Dad, Brian and his friends will hang out, may I go?", he sighed and nodded.

"But, you must be here before 7 pm" I nodded. I went to the backyard, where my mom was, and told her dad said yes, she sighed and I called Brian, he would come for me in 10 minutes, so I quickly changed my clothes, since I was wearing my pajamas. I grabbed my Black Sabbath t-shirt, the one Brian gave to me, jeans and my black boots.

I went downstairs and Brian knocked the door. I said goodbye to my parents and left with him.

"So, where are we going to?" I curious asked.

"Today is a sunny day, so we will go to the beach"

"Damnit Brian, I only brought this" I said pointing to my clothes.

"It's fine, Val always takes extra clothes, so she can lend you a short or something"

"Alright"

"Hey, you are wearing the t-shirt I gave you"

"Yeah, I loved it. Thanks"

"You're welcome"

We walked to Zacky's house, apparently, Brian was picking us. A boy opened the door, it was Zacky's brother, Matt. Zacky immediately ran out of the house.

"Hey Emily! I am glad you are coming with us" he said with a smile on his face.

"She couldn't miss this" Brian said.

We left Zacky's house and went to Jimmy's. Zacky knocked the door and he came out from the backyard, with his spiky hair.

"Hey guys" he said but not to me, he kinda ignored me. We left his house and went to Val's house. Matt was already there with a guy, that soon was introduced as Jason Berry.

"Where's your brother?" Zacky asked to Jason.

"He is sick, bro" Brian said that Jason's brother's name is Matt too. Well, wow.

I asked Val to lend me some extra clothes, she said yes and she told me to follow her, we went to her room.

"My twin sister is here, she is uh, annoying, so if she acts like a jerk, just ignore her, okay?" Val said.

We walked through a long hallway, her room was just in front of her sister's room. I was just whishing that her sister wouldn't show up, I don't like to deal with annoying girls, I've had to deal with them so many times before.

We walked into Val's room and she took a bag and grabbed the clothes we both needed .

"Val, before you leave can you …" a feminine voice said out of her room, it was Michelle, Val's twin. "Who is this?" she rudely asked.

"I am Emily"

"what the hell do you want?" she asked.

"Michelle, get the fuck out of my room and leave her alone" Michelle only rolled her eyes and went back to her room.

"I am sorry about that Em. She is rude and I don't even know why, but whatever, let's leave"

We walked out of her house and the guys were anxious to leave. We walked to the beach, which was about 15 minutes away, we decided to walk.

"Val, I was wondering if you can help me to decorate my room"

"Yes! That would be awesome."

"Okay, fine, I will talk to my parents and I think I will call you around 8 pm" She nodded. I walked next to Zacky, he was really sweet and funny. Val was walking with Jason and Matt, Brian and Jimmy were walking together.

Once we got to the beach, the guys took their clothes off and ran into the water, Val and I had to go to a public bathroom and change there. The bathroom was so dirty and stinky, we couldn't stand it, but we had to change somehow, so we put the clothes as fast as we could and ran the hell out of there.

"That was nasty" I said, she nodded, she was pale. We put our clothes next to the guys' clothes and got into the water.

The guys were swimming and playing, fortunately, I could swim so I wouldn't look like an idiot in front of them.  
The water was cold but it was totally fine because the sun was shining. The beach was not saturated by people so it looked like we had it only for us.

"So, do you like Huntington?" Brian asked, he was wearing a cap.

"I love it. This beach is amazing! Thank you for invinting me"

"from today till we all get old, you are always invited. You are one of us now." he said as he put his cap on my head, "I know your skin is sensitive so this cap might protect you" I laughed and thanked him.

Jimmy came from behind and started to splash the water towards us. Brian got pissed off but at the same time he knew Jimmy was playing so he did the same to him, suddenly, I was in the middle of a water war. I swam away with help of Matt, who was laughing at Brian and Jimmy.

"Hey bro, look at my fingers" Jimmy said, "I am an old man" Brian laughed, we all had our fingers like that, for spending a lot of time in the water, so we decided to get out and play in the sand.

Brian and Zacky started to wrestle, this was my opportunity to show them I could wrestle, but Jimmy interrupted them, "what are you guys doing?"

"Wrestling" Zacky answered.

"That is pathetic, come here and let's get something to eat and drink" Jimmy said.

"I brought money to buy beers" Jason said, "but it's not enough to get food" Val laughed.

"Do you really prefer to get beers instead of food?" she asked, and they all nodded, "whatever guys, Emily and I will go to get food. See you here in 10" she said.

The guys took our clothes in Val's bag and went to buy the beers and Val and I went to buy food, we went to a small store, according to Val, the employer was friend of her parents and he was really nice to them.

"Hi Val, who is your friend?" he friendly asked.

"She is Emily, she usted to live in Crockett, but she moved just a few day ago"

"Emily, you will love here, the people is nice and the place is just beautiful" he said to me.

"I am already loving it" he smiled.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Can you make 7 hamburgers for us?" Val asked.

"7 hamburgers for you two?" he shocked asked, Val and I laughed.

"No, Alex" Val said between laughs, "we came here with our friends"

"Oh, I see. Sure, take a sit and your hamburgers will be ready soon" we went to a table and sat. There was a table with 5 guys that were older than us but they were really handsome, and the guys were staring at us.

"Emily, they are totally checking you out" Val said and I couldn't help but to get blushed.

"Shut up Val, they are seeing you"

"I think they are seeing us, how awkward" we both laughed.

One of the guys, was tall with dark hair and gray eyes, he was probably the most handsome of them, he came to our table and asked us if he could sit with us, Val said yes.

"So, we are you from girls? he asked, he had an accent. He obviously was a tourist.

"We are from here" Val said.

"Oh sorry, I didn't introduce myself, I am Nick."

"I am Emily"

"And I am Val"

"I am here with my brothers, we will be here for a week, so since you're from here, I was wondering if you could show us the whole place" he said, honestly, Val and I were shocked, we  
exchanged glances until we got interrupted by Matt and the guys that already came back with the beers.

The guys noticed the thing that was going on with Nick, I could notice they got like jealous. They all took chairs and sat with us, Matt and Zacky were sat next to Val, she ended up in the middle, and Brian and Jimmy sat next to me, I was in the middle of them too and Jason sat in front of Nick.

"Who is this?" Jimmy asked.

"I am Nick" he was kind of intimidated.

"And what do you want?" Matt asked.

"Nothing. Bye girls." he said and left. Val and I laughed.

"What did he want?" Brian asked me.

"He came here to ask us if we could show him the whole place, he will be here for a week"

"What did you say?" Jason asked.

"You interrupted us. We couldn't answer" Val said, "and they were checking Emily out." she laughed and I blushed again, "He wanted to ask her out" Val continued saying. She was the only one that was laughing.

"Shut up Val" Brian and Matt said. We all laughed this time.

Alex came back with the hamburgers, we paid and left.

We sat in the sand, just a few meters away from the sea, the guys bought beers for them and water for Val and me. Val gave the hamburgers to each one and we started eating.  
Brian sat next to me and offer me of his beer, I said no.

"would you go out with Nick?" he asked.

"Hell no, he is handsome but not my type"

"He seemed to be a jerk, to be quite honest"

"I know, I saw the way he was staring at us"

"I am glad we were there, I know you and Val would have said yes"

"No, we wouldn't"

"Whatever, want beer?"

"Brian, I said no" he laughed.

As soon as we finished, we went to change our clothes, I returned the cap to Brian but he insisted that I should keep it, so I did.

I was walking out of the dirty bathroom when someone threw water at me, it was Jimmy, he laughed and ran away.

"what the hell?" I yelled, but he was still running.

We left the beach and went to Jason's house to make a quickly visit to his brother, Matt, who was sick. Brian told me to introduce myself and I did it, Matt was nice.

It was getting close to 7 pm and I had to get home. So, we left to my house, which was close to Jason's house.  
When we got to my house, I invited them to go inside but they said no because they drank and my parents would knew it. I said good-bye to all of them.

"Well, you are just in time." dad said. I rolled my eyes.

"Where's mom?"

"She was reading a book in our room"

I went to my parents' room, mom was sitting in her sofa, reading a book. When she saw me, she smiled, it actually made me happy.

"Hello sweetie, how was your day?"

"It was amazing" I said, "mom, I want to decorate my room and I ask Val to help me and she said yes, can we go to buy stuff for my room?"

"When?"

"Tomorrow, I guess"

"Okay, I will talk to your father then"

I went to my room and called Val. I already had an idea of what I wanted.  
I remembered that Jimmy threw water at me, so I had to change my clothes again. I put Brian's cap next to my bed, it may sound weird but that cap was special to me.

I called Andy and told him about everything. He was happy for me and he said he would visit me next year.

My dad went to my room with a box, he said it was my reward for being brave. He put the box on my bed and left the room. I was curious, so I went to open the box and it was a Super Nintendo. I freaked out. I wanted one so much.  
I ran downstairs and dad helped me to install it, I called Brian but he said he didn't like it but he also said Matt loved it. I called him and he showed up in less than 10 minutes.

We played together till midnight, when Matt's mother showed up, she was worried. Matt and his mother left.

I went to my room, I kept thinking about the reaction of the guys towards Nick. I don't know what to think.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up around 11 a.m., yesterday was so much fun and I was exhausted, plus, I played video games with Matt until midnight.

Mom and dad left to buy some stuff we needed, so I had breakfast on my own. Since my parents would be home by 3:00 pm, I decided to went to Val's house.

I grabbed my bike and rode to her house, which was pretty close. Once I arrived, I hid behind a tree, her sister, Michelle, and her friends were on the street.

"Damnit, what am I going to do now?" I mumbled to myself. I don't want them to make fun of me. I sighed and waited a few minutes, for my luck, they left Val's house and walked away.

I went to knock her door and her mother opened.

"Hello, you must be Emily, right?" she asked.

"Yes, that's me"

"Nice to meet you. I am her mom. Val does not have many girl friends." she laughed, "come in, she is in the kitchen"

"Thank you" I said as I left my bike out of the house. I walked in and made my way towards the kitchen.

Val was drinking a smoothie, her mother offered me one but I just had breakfast so I said no.  
Val's mother whispered something in Val's ear and she left. Val smiled at me and showed me one of her tooth, which was broken.

"What the hell happened?" I surprised asked.

"After you left, I went to Zacky's house and we played baseball with his little brother and accidentally, his brother hit me with the bat and my tooth broke, now I have to go to the dentist, we are about to leave." she chuckled.

"Oh Val, that sucks. I will come later"

"Alright and when are we going to decor your room?"

"Oh yes, my parents and I are going to buy my stuff today and I don't know, we can start tomorrow"

"That sounds perfect. See you later Emily"

"Before I leave, don't you think that the whole thing with Nick was weird? I mean, how the guys acted."

"Yes, I was going to tell you the same. I'ts weird, I wanted to ask Zacky last night but I couldn't" she said pointing to her broken tooth.

"I'm going to ask Zacky. Bye Val" I said and left her house.

Since my parents won't come back in a while, I went to Zacky's. His house was 10 minutes away. Once I arrived I left my bike in fron of his door, I went up to knock it and Zacky opened. When he saw me, he opened up his eyes and let out a really cute smile.

"Hi Emily! What are you doing here?" he asked, "it's not that I don't want you tu be here but it surprises me" he said and I chuckled.

"Well, I went to see Val and she has to go to the dentist" Zacky laughed, "And my parents are no thome and I am bored and I wanted to come and say hi"

"Yes, poor Val, she has a broken tooth now, it was an accident. Let's go inside"

Zacky's house was really pretty, it was like it made me feel comfortable. Zacky's dad was in the kitchen, Zacky introduced me to him, his dad was cool and outgoing, not like mine. We went to the living room and sat on the couches, next to his brother who was watching cartoons.

"Hey Zacky, can I ask you something?" I asked. Zacky immeadiately nodded, "Remember yesterday, when this guy Nick was talking to Val and me and when you all appeared and you were rude to him?"

"We weren't that rude"

"Oh yes, you were, don't deny it. Do you remember?"

"uh yes"

"Why did you guys act like that?" he chuckled.

"You know? Just like Bri said, you are one of us now, so does Val, and I don't know, at least I feel that I must protect you, even though it's not my responsability but I feel like doing it, i think we all feel like we have to take care of you two"

"Like if we were your little sisters?"

"Yeah, something like that"

"Well, that's pretty cool and sweet. Thank you"

"Don't even mention it" after all, they were good guys.

"Zach, but you don't protect me" his little brother said, I couldn't help but laugh

"Shut up Matt, I protect you all the time. I've saved your ass so many times" Matt laughed this time.

"So, where are you going to study?" he asked.

"My parents mentioned _Huntington Beach High School_ so I guess that's where I am going to study"

"Are you serious? That's where Sanders, Jimmy and I study at"

"Awesome" I sarcastically said, not because of him or Matt but because of Jimmy, he seemed to be pretty cool but he has been mean to me and if we go to the same school, it could get worse.

"Are you nervous about it?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's going to be new for me"

"You're gonna love it. Hey, what if the first day, I take you to the high school?" I couldn't help but blush and let out a small giggle. I bet I looked like an idiot.

"That would be nice, thank you"

"Alright, I will call you the night before clases start. You still have two weeks of vacations, so enjoy them"

"That's what I am going to do"

"If we hang out or we meet to have a good time, you must be with us, okay?"

"Alright, I gotta go now" I stood up and said goodbye to his brother and father. Zacky hugged me and said goodbye. I walked out of his house, took my bike and rode home.

My parents were already there, I thought they would be pissed off because I wasn't at home but they weren't. The phone rang and my dad answered. I was telling my mom about Val but dad interrupted us.

"Brian just called, he invited us to have lunch. So get ready, we'll leave in 10"

I only put my hair into a messy and awkward ponytail. We got into the car and dad drove to the restaurant, it was close to the beach. When we got there, I noticed that Brian was with Jimmy out of the restaurant waiting for us. This could be great or really bad.

"Hi Emilyyyyyy" Brian shouted. I went up to greet him but Jimmy pushed him away and shook hands with me. I smiled but he didn't.

"Sweetie, let's go inside" mom said. I walked in and we sat with Brian's parents. I wasn't hungry but mom forced me to eat. I finished soon but my parents kept talking with Brian's parents. Brian and Jimmy asked me to go outside.

We were in the parking lot, next to my van. Jimmy and Brian were talking about music, but everytime I tried to talk, Jimmy would totally ignore my arguments. I sighed as I was only there listening to them.

"Emily, I have my guitar in my car, do you want to play it?" Brian asked. I nodded. Brian gave me his guitar and I started to play "Two steps behind" by Def Leppard.

"I am bored. I am going to see if we are leaving soon" Brian said. Shit, now I am alone with Jimmy. I kept playing until Jimmy interrupted me to ask me something.

"What song is that?"

"ah, 'Two steps behind' by Def Leppard"

"It sounds good"

"Yeah, they are awesome"

"Can you sing it?"

"Uhm yeah...  
_Walk away, if you want to._  
_It's okay if you need to._  
_You can run, but you can never hide_  
_From the shadow that's creepin up beside you._  
_There's a magic runnin' through your soul_  
_But you can't have it all..."_

"Guys, we are leaving in 10 minutes!" Brian shouted. I stopped singing but I kept playing the guitar. Jimmy and Brian started to talk again. It was weird, when Jimmy and I were with other people, he would be bad to me, but when we were alone, he was kind. This was confusing me.

I gave the guitar back to Brian because he wanted to show something to Jimmy. Our parents walked out of the restaurant, we got into our cars and we left.

I couldn't stop thinking about Jimmy's behave. What was the matter? I am not brave enough to ask him but Brian can help me.


	8. Chapter 8

_"... What would have I done if you were not in my life? I would be probably dead. You know I am not lying. You were there when I needed help, when I was so weak I couldn't stand on my own. Your words and friendship helped me to keep going. You are my best friend and I want and hope that our friendship lasts forever..."_

That was a segment of the letter Andy gave me. I didn't know how much I meant to him. It kinda made me feel worse for leaving him, but I've called him everyday. He was fine so far. I would visit him in three months because of his birthday, I would do something just as meaningful like the bracelet he gave me, the problem was Andy never liked to get presents.

Mom and I went to buy the stuff I wanted for my bedroom, she acceded to buy everything I wanted but my it had to be painted with a light color, we chose soft yellow. We bought, old records, some of them didn't even sound anymore but it was perfect because I wanted to put them on my walls, we bought posters of rock bands like KISS, Def Leppard, etc. and some lights.

We already had the furniture, the company where my dad works at, paid the half of the cost of our new house and the whole furniture, dad said they don't do that but he is the best in his job so they bought everything for us. Dad, mom and I spent the whole evening painting my bedroom, which was bigger than my older room, we were exhausted. Dad promised me he would built a new tree house for me but he wanted me to help him. Once we finished painting my bedroom, I helped them to paint theirs. I was really exhausted so I went to took a shower while they finished their room.

I was about to finish when I heard someone knocking the door. I stayed in silence as I tried to figure out who was out of our house but I failed, dad was singing "Twist and shout" by The Beatles. I gave up and finished my shower.

"Emily" mom said. I was drying my hair with my towel.

"What?" I nicely asked.

"Your friends, I think it's Matt and Brian, they're looking for you"

"Matt who? I've met three different guys whose name are Matt in just two days"

"He has black nails"

"Oh, it's Sanders, tell them I'll be with them in 10 minutes"

"They're already waiting you for you in the living. Hurry up"

"Alright, thanks mom"

I put my pajamas pants and a black t-shirt on. I put my hair into a bun and made sure I looked good. I ran downstairs and they were sat in silence.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Hi Emily" Matt said, "Can we play Super Nintendo with you?" I laughed and nodded.

I gave them the controllers and I went to the kitchen to find some snacks but our cupboard was empty.

"Wait a second" I said, they just said yes, they were already playing and they were entertained.  
I went to my parents' room and tell them the situation, I asked for money and permission to go to the grocery store to buy snacks. It was not that late so my parents let me go on my own.  
I returned to the living and they were still playing and laughing. I told them I would leave and they nodded.

I left the house and made my way to the grocery store. The light of the sun was starting to fade away, very slowly so I hurried. Once I got there, I came in and grabbed 3 bags of snacks, two juice boxes and some candies, I paid for everything and left. I saw a familiar silhouette across the street. The responsible of the silhouette was a tall guy with spiky hair that was smoking with 3 guys, it was Jimmy, I had no doubt about it because no one has that spiky hair. He was kinda nice to me last night so I confidently walked down the street, passing next to them. I was going to say hi but someone grabbed my arm and pushed me towards them. _No.___

"Look who we have here, what was your name? Lisa? Alexis? Steph?" Jimmy was saying.

"It's Emily" I firmly said.

"I still don't care" he said as he poured a can of soda on my hair. They all laughed and walked away.

I stayed in awe. I couldn't believe he did that. I ran to my house with tears on my eyes, I did my best to hold my crying but I failed. I went to my backyard and cried in silence, I didn't want my parents or Brian and Matt to listen to me. _What the hell was so wrong with him? Why did he humiliate me in fron of his friends?_ I was getting tired of his shit. I sighed and wiped my tears away.

There was adoor in the kitchen that leads to the backyard, I used it and walked into the house. I stayed in the kitchen until I was calmed down. I poured water on my hair because it was sticky. Once I was better, I returned to the living and offered them the snacks. Brian stared at me, like if he knew I was not fine.

"Are you okay?" he asked, Matt immediately paused the game and stared at me as well. I couldn't help but burst into tears. I couldn't hold it anymore. I explained them the whole thing but I didn't tell them that it was Jimmy. Matt's face went all red, he started to curse and he was saying that he would fine the asshole that made me cry. They both hugged me.

"Emily, we are going to take care of you. We are going to be like your big brothers" Matt said and Brian nodded. They are the best. I kissed their cheeks and they continued playing.

It passed about 2 hours and they were ready to leave. Matt went to the toilet and Brian and I were alone.

"Can I ask you something" I asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you remember Andy?" he nodded, "His birthday is in three months and I was wondering if you could help me to play a song for him. You play the guitar better than I do" he laughed and said yes.

I still need to find a perfect song for Andy though. Matt came back and they left. I went to my room and tried to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I spent the next whole day with Val, she helped me to decorate my bedroom and we talked about the thing that happened last night, I told her it was Jimmy. She didn't believe me at first because she said that Jimmy is one of the best persons she knows and also she promised she wouldn't tell anyone about it.

It was nice to have Val as a friend. She was definitely going to be my best friend until we die.


	9. Chapter 9

"Now put your second finger on the third string" Brian ordered as he was teaching me to play 'Starway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin. I already knew how to play almost all the song but I was struggling with the solo.

"Brian, this is too complicated for me" I said but I kept trying.

"Shut up! You're great and you're leraning way too fast" I sighed and I continued trying.

Brian was so patient with me and that helped me to keep going. When I finally could end the solo, I put the guitar down and threw myself to the floor. Brian couldn't help but laugh at me. I stayed in the floor staring at my fingers, they hurt but it was worth it. I stood up and sat next to Brian.

"Hey, Jimmy and I will play a few songs, wanna come?" _'Yeah, I will go to see the guy who has been so fucking mean to me, what a good idea'_I thought to myself, I wish I could have said that.

"Uh, yeah"

"Perfect, come to my house around 7 pm" I nodded.

We were in my bedroom, he said he liked the decoration but he said it could be better.

"How?" I curious and incredulously asked.

"It's quite simple, you need photos of my face" he said and I laughed so hard that I started to cry, he laughed at first but then he stayed quiet and pretended he was hurt. I knew he wasn't.

Once I could control myself, we went to the living and played Mario together. We were screaming and doing a lot of noise, but my parents didn't say a thing, they actually liked Brian and mom says they were happy because I finally had more than one friend.  
We kept playing for one hour, but he had to leave because he had to do chores.  
He left and I turned the Nintendo and the TV off. I went to my bedroom and clean the mess I did. I laid down in bed and I stared at my fingers again. I hadn't played the guitar in months so my fingers were feeling the pain.

"Lunch is ready!" dad yelled. I went downstairs and joined my parents who were already eating their food. Once we finished, I helped my dad to wash the dishes while mom was cooking a dessert, which would be ready around 9 pm, hopefully I would be back to eat it.

It was still early so I returned to my bedroom and took a nap, mom would wake me up to go to Brian's. I don't know what to expect to happen.

_"The whole place was dark, only one spotlight was illuminating the stage. The young_, _small and thin girl was on her knees, confused and thinking she was fearless and brave but she was only lying to herself. Not knowing what she was doing there or what she would do, her heart started to beat so fast she feared someone could hear her but she was alone. She lift up her face and she was facing the seats a crowd should be using but no one was around. The feeling of doubt made her tremble. From the distance she could hear a very soft voice that whispered__**'you can't'.**__She started to question who else was with her, but the few illumination stopped her from trying to figure out if she was on her own or not. The voice started to grow louder until the point where she found herself crying, she took her hands to her ears, but the voice wouldn't stop. What was all this meaning? She stood up and ran away, now the stage where was, was endless, no end, no beginning. Exhausted and desperate, she stopped, all her effort was useless.__  
__A strange and unknown shadow appeared right next to her, the fear started to fill her petite body but curious, she lift up her eyes, she was facing a mirror. She couldn't understand what was happening but she stared at her own reflection like if she'd never seen a mirror before. Her reflection let out a mocking laughter and said__**'You know you can't do it. Stop fooling yourself'**__as soon as she started to cry, the mirror cracked. The roof started to fell piece by piece, scared and confused, she started to run away, until she felt something really cold that was embracing her."___

"Emily! What is wrong?" my mother scared asked. I was covered in sweat. I just had a nightmare that I can't understand.

"I had a nightmare" mom sighed and hugged me. I was scared but I was so confused.

It was 7.15 pm, honestly, I didn't want to go but I told Brian I would be there, so I changed my clothes and rode to his house.

I was not even on his street and I already could hear the songs. If I was right, they were playing "Holow" by Pantera. Once I arrived to his house, Suzy saw me and greeted me, they were inside the house, Brian Sr. is a musician so he had a special room where he had his guitars and many other instruments.

When I entered the room, I could Jimmy growling, I don't know if I was the reason but I already feel bad. I wish he could treat me like a friend. Brian looked at me and stopped playing.

"I thought you were not coming" he yelled. Jimmy stopped playing the drums.

"I had a nightmare and I couldn't wake up. Uh, but I'm here, like I promised"

"Great, now we have to start again" Jimmy rudely said. I rolled my eyes and sat in front of Brian.

They both were so good, so talented. I stared at both of them, it was incredible how easy was for them. I stared at Jimmy this time, he was concentrated on what he was doing, but it seemd like he was enjoying it, like if music was what he loved the most. He turned around and stared at me, nervously, I looked away. When they finished, I couldn't help but say "Wow". Brian and Jimmy laughed.

"Dude, you gotta play Stairway to Heaven now, you already know the song" he said to me, I refused to play it.

"No dude, I am not good"

"Fine, let's continue" Jimmy said.

"No, wait. Emily, you can do it" I sighed and agreed. Brian gave me his guitar.

"Brian, what are you doing to do?" I asked.

"I'll sing" he said.

Since the song starts with the guitar, I started to feel nervous.

"Okay, let's do this" Brian said. I breathed in and started to play the intro.

_There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold__  
__And she's buying a stairway to heaven.__  
__When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed__  
__With a word she cant get what she came for.__  
__Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.___

_There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure__  
__'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.__  
__In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,__  
__Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.___

_Ooh, it makes me wonder,__  
__Ooh, it makes me wonder.___

_There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,__  
__And my spirit is crying for leaving.__  
__In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,__  
__And the voices of those who stand looking.___

_Ooh, it makes me wonder,__  
__Ooh, it really makes me wonder.___

_And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,__  
__Then the piper will lead us to reason.__  
__And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,__  
__And the forests will echo with laughter.___

_If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,__  
__It's just a spring clean for the May queen.__  
__Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run__  
__There's still time to change the road you're on.__  
__And it makes me wonder.___

_Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,__  
__The piper's calling you to join him,__  
__Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know__  
__Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?___

_And as we wind on down the road__  
__Our shadows taller than our soul.__  
__There walks a lady we all know__  
__Who shines white light and wants to show__  
__How everything still turns to gold.__  
__And if you listen very hard__  
__The tune will come to you at last.__  
__When we all are one and one is all__  
__To be a rock and not to roll.___

_And she's buying the stairway to heaven._

Brian's voice was awesome, he sings like an angel. I messed up a few times and I could hear Jimmy's laugh. To be honest, I didn't care at all. I was enjoying music.  
Brian wanted to keep playing songs but it was getting dark and since I had a terrible nightmare, I wanted to be home before I couldn't see a damn thing.  
I waved goodbye to both of them, and went to my house. The dessert my mom prepared was ready but I wasn't hungry. I directly went to my room. I was afraid of sleeping but I finally did.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*1 week later*

Knowing that this is the last week of vacation, made me want to cry. I hung out with the guys this whole week, almost every day. We went to different places and they also took me to Matt's house (Sanders) where they all reunite to play music. Val and I are even closer. I am so glad I have them in my life.


	10. Chapter 10

"Val, where are we going to?" I asked. Val went to my house, convinced me to go out with her but she covered my eyes so I wouldn't see where she was taking me to. Val didn't answer, she was holding my hand guiding me. I was getting anxious but I trusted in her, I knew she wouldn't do anything bad to me.

We walked for about 15 minutes and I kept asking and Val grew tired of me.

"Alright lady, stop asking, we finally arrived" she said as she helped me to uncover my eyes. I kept my eyes closed and slowly opened them.

Val took me to a record store, a very big record store, the name of it was "_Apollo_" and I knew why, because Apollo, in the Greek mythology, is the god of music, art, poetry and that kind of stuff. We entered and there were a lot of shelves with albums, some of them were really old and some of them were almost new. The walls were covered with newspaper, I read a few articles and they were about music. "Fade to black" by Metallica was playing, the atmosphere of this place was totally fantastic. Just a few people and us, were in the record store.

A tall young woman, she was like 29, was the owner of the place, her hair was curly and red, her skin was white and her face was thin and covered in freckles.

"Hello girls, my name is Kat, if you need help, don't doub in asking me" she said with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you" Val and I said, she walked away and we went to look for some albums.

"Val, why did you covered my eyes?" she laughed.

"Because I know how much you love music and I wanted this to be a surprise"

"I was freaking out"

"And you were freaking me out. You ask too much"

"What did you expect? I didn't know where you were taking me to. But thank you. I really liked here"

"This is where Matt and Jimmy come and buy albums. They took me here once and I loved the place, Kat is nice and the albums are not expensive"

"I didn't bring money, you should have told me that we were coming to a record store."

"I did it with that purpose, I am not like this with all my girl friends, though you're like the only one," she laughed, "but I want you to choose three albums, I will buy them for you"

"You don't have to do that" I blushed.

"I am serious, don't make me mad, so go and pick three albums, I will buy one for Matt and one for me"

As soon as she said this, I ran to the shelves and looked for albums, all of them were amazing, I wanted them all but Val was only buying three for me. It took me 10 minutes to decide which albums I want, so my final decision was _Ride de Lightning_ by Metallica, _Legacy of Brutality_ by The Misfits and _Appetite for Destruction_ by Guns N' Roses. Val picked _I Am the Night_ by Pantera for Matt and _Girls, Girls, Girls_ by Mötley Crüe for her.

We went to the cash register to pay the albums. Kat received us with a smile.

"Did you find all you wanted?" she asked and we nodded, as she was seeing the albums we picked she said, "you have great taste in music girls, if you ask me, _I Am the Night_ is my favorite. Pantera is my favorite band"

"my best friend loves Pantera" Val said.

"Your friend fucking rocks!" Kat said and we all laughed.

I kept looking around, admiring the place, I thought it was amazing.

"Hey, do you want to know the story of this place?" Kat asked me.

"Sure"

"My grandfather bought this place when he was young, he wanted it to be house but then his wife told him she was pregnant, he had to get money so he started to sell all his albums, the oldest albums you saw were his, then my mom grew up and kept this place, she is a big fan of music so she spent almost every evening of her life here, she met my dad here and he was nerd but he ended up loving music. My parents are old now so I am the owner of the place and I try to keep my family's legacy" she said with a very proud smirk on her face.

"And why it is named _Apollo_?" Val asked.

"I am sure you know the Greek mythology, right?" I nodded. "My grandfather named it _Apollo_because his mother was Greek and he lived part of his childhood in Greece so, I guess that's the reason"

"That's amazing. This store is my favorite now" I said. Kat thanked me.

Val paid for the albums and we left. The store was close to Jimmy's house, so Val insisted to go to visit him, but then she remembered the thing between Jimmy and me and we left to her house, but before we arrived, we went to a stationery to buy some paper to decorate a box.

"So, why did you buy an album for Matt?" I asked as Val opened the door and we walked in.

"His birthday was a month ago and I had no money and I didn't buy anything for him. He always have been nice to me so"

"I understand, Brian's birthday was a month ago too and I was so busy with school, emotions and because I moved out and I didn't give anything to him" I said, I was thinking in giving one of the albums to him but Val bought them for me, that would be rude, "When are you giving the album to Matt?" I asked.

"Tomorrow, we are probably going to hang out, will you come with us?"

"Sure"

I helped Val to decorate a box, it was pretty simple because Matt didn't like decorated stuff. Val put the album in the box and a letter she wrote for him. I wanted to read it but I knew it was personal so I didn't even ask. We finished and we went to her kitchen to eat something. She prepared a fruit cocktail, she is kinda healthy, but I can't complain, the cocktail was delicious.

"I'm leaving, I have to do a lot of stuff. See you tomorrow, and thank you for the albums. You're awesome" I said and I went up to hug her. She hugged back.

"You're welcome and you're awesome too. I am glad you're my friend. See you girl, have a nice night"

I took my albums with me and left her house. I quickly arrived to my house, went to my bedroom, left my albums in my bed, grabbed some money and went to my parents room.

"Hi"

"Hi Emily" mom said. Dad was sleeping.

"Can I go to a record store to buy something for Brian?"

"Why?"

"His birthday was a month ago and I didn't buy anything for him"

"Do you need money?"

"No, I am only asking for permission"

"Alright, you may go, but don't be late. I want you to help me to prepare dinner"

"Yes, thanks mom" I said and I left. I didn't want to go alone so I went to Zacky's but no one opened the door. I sighed and sat on the sidewalk.

"Hey" someone said. I lift up my face and Jason Berry was smiling to me.

"Hi!" I said. I stood up and greeted him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to go with Zacky to a record store but no one opened the door. What about you?"

"I was going to tell him if he wanted to come over and watch a movie but I guess I will have to watch it with my brother"

"ahm... do you want to come with me? I don't want to go alone"

"Alright, let's go"

At first, we were in silence but then we started to talk about the most random things, we started to laugh because a little kid was running away from a dog, that led into a weird conversation about dogs. Then we talked about movies, we both loved scary movies.

We arrived and Jason immediately recognized the store, we entered and Kat greeted us. She recognized me and said she was glad that I came back so quickly.

I bought _Presence_ by Led Zeppelin. Jason said he loved that album. I went to pay and left.

Jason took me to my house, he didn't stop talking about how much he liked Led Zeppelin, when I told him I knew how to play _Stairway to Heaven_, he nearly passed out. He was funny and nice. When we arrived, I didn't know if I should invite him to come in but I realized he was nervous about it so I only kissed his cheek and thanked him. He walked away and I walked into my house.

I helped my mother to prepared the dinner and then I called Andy but he was not home. So I leaned down in my bed and listened to my new albums. I didn't realize how tired I was and I fell asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

[next morning]

I woke up and took a shower, I had breakfast and left to Val's. I brought the album with me. Michelle was in the street with her friends, I didn't hide this time, I walked with confidence, which I don't know where did I get it from, but I made it to Val's front door. I heard some whispers behind me but I ignored them. Val opened the door and she was ready to leave so we left to Matt's house.

Matt was in his garage with Brian, Jimmy, Zacky and another guy that soon was introduced as Matt. _Really?_ But the guys called him "Wendt"

"What do you have in there?" Matt asked to both of us.

"Come with me" Val said to Matt.

"Brian, come here" I said to Brian. We walked out of the garage and I gave him the album.

"Wow" he said as he was admiring the album.

"This is your birthday present and also because you've been an amazing friend and yeah" I said trying not to blush.

"I wasn't expecting this. Thank you. This is completely perfect." he said as he hugged me.

"I think Brian got a girlfriend" Wendt yelled from the inside of the garage. Brian gave him the middle finger.

"You're jealous because Emily is pretty and an amazing friend" he said, I blushed and giggled. Wendt laughed and nodded.

Matt and Val were still talking and I sat next to Zacky. I told him that I went to his house but no one opened the door, he said they were at his uncle's house.

"So, what are we going?" Brian asked.

"I guess, we are only going to play some songs" Jimmy answered.

"Oh... I think I am going home, I want to listen to this album"

"We'll hang out tomorrow" Matt said.

"Fine, I'm out guys. Hey Emily, want to come to my house?" I nodded while getting blushed. We waved goodbye and left to his house. We spent the evening in his bedroom, listening to the album, which was a masterpiece, we ate popcorns and I drank juice, he drank soda.

We stayed in his bedroom talking about my prom, we were remembering our dance, which we both were ashamed of, but it was funny.

It wanted to go home because I was feeling sick so he took me to my house, I wanted to go on my own but he told me that the same guy, that poured the soda can on my hair , could be on the streets and he got paranoiac about it, so he came with me.

I asked him to go inside but he said no, he wanted to play some songs of the album with his dad. I hugged him and walked into my house.

I had a slight headache, I went to my bedroom and fell asleep.

The week was almost over and I was about to start a new school year in a new school with new people. I was scared, but I was tired of being scared and weak, I decided to be brave.


End file.
